UIS And Other Schools See Larger Freshman Classes

Many of Illinois' public universities are welcoming larger freshmen classes to their campuses this fall. Experts warn not to read too much into the increases. But many of the schools say higher numbers could mean that everything from the University of Illinois' strong science and math programs to efforts working to draw more students to smaller schools such as Eastern Illinois University. Blair Lord is provost at EIU. The Charleston school's freshman enrollment went up for the first time in four years to 1,254. Around the country higher education enrollments are falling as an improving economy leads to more jobs Tim Barnett is vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He says the school's 19.8 percent freshman increase is a result of more marketing in Chicago.

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Fall 2013 enrollment at the Springfield campus of the University of Illinois is up by nearly 100 students compared to the previous fall semester. According to the official fall census, the total number of students enrolled at UIS after the first 10 days of classes is 5,137. This marks the fourth year enrollment has topped 5,000 students. Last fall’s enrollment was 5,048.

Overall, the number of freshmen students attending UIS jumped by 20% this semester. That makes it the largest freshman class in UIS history.